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<title>Of Stray Cats &amp; Sharp Suits by JupiterMelichios</title>
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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23618554">Of Stray Cats &amp; Sharp Suits</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/JupiterMelichios/pseuds/JupiterMelichios'>JupiterMelichios</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Black Cat (Anime &amp; Manga)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Aromantic Character, Asexual Character, Asexual Relationship, Bisexuality, Canon Bisexual Character, Curtain Fic, Families of Choice, Fluff, Friendship, Gen, LGBTQ Character, Male-Female Friendship, Platonic Relationships, Queer Families, non-sexual bdsm, queer platonic relationship</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-04-12</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-04-12</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-02 17:07:45</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,411</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23618554</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/JupiterMelichios/pseuds/JupiterMelichios</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>“Well you see, a talk is where two people who enjoy one another’s company spend some time sharing ideas, getting to know each other a little better. A <i>Talk</i> is where I warn you that whatever it is you’re selling, Train isn’t buying.”</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Rinslet Walker &amp; Sven Vollfied, Train Heartnet &amp; Eve, Train Heartnet &amp; Sven Vollfied, Train Heartnet/Sven Vollfied</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>52</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Of Stray Cats &amp; Sharp Suits</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>I've been rereading the Black Cat manga, and I'm fairly sure that a lot of what I love about it - the queer themes, the lack of romance, the way it treats its female characters - is accidental, but that doesn't make me love it any less. Plus I really don't write enough ace characters.</p><p>This is set at some vague handwavey point between them fighting the T-Rex and Durham's attack on Eve.</p><p>If any of you are reading this for the tags (or because you follow my writing) without knowing the canon, I <i>think</i> the only things you need to know for this to make sense is that Train and Sven are bounty hunters, Rins is a professional thief, Eve's a recovering super soldier, and Train's code name is the Black Cat and he takes the stray cat metaphor very seriously.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Rinslet leans on the balcony railing and watches the two figures in the pool below. She’d been surprised to learn that Train could swim - he took the cat thing so damn seriously she’d been expecting him to hate water - but he seems perfectly happy splashing around with Eve.</p><p>As she watches, Eve ducks under the water and a second later Train disappears as well, flailing and gasping. She’s pretty sure Eve’s doing something to her own body density to make herself sink and pull him under. It’s the third time she’s done it just in the time Rinslet has been watching, but apparently, Train hasn’t learned to watch out for it yet. Or he’s letting her do it. He might pretend not to, but he does actually understand that she’s a kid and he’s an adult, as least most of the time.</p><p>A few seconds later both of them emerge, Train red-faced and spluttering and Eve grinning from ear to ear. Train splashes her, in a half-hearted attempt at revenge, but she just laughs and after a moment he joins in.</p><p>Rinslet is slightly horrified to realise that she’s smiling.</p><p>“Am I going to have to have a talk with you?”</p><p>She doesn’t jump, because she’s very very good at what she does, but she turns a little faster than she intended to.</p><p>Sven is leaning against the door jam watching her with an expression she can’t place, cigarette dangling from his fingers.</p><p>“A talk or a Talk?” she asks.</p><p>He grins at her. In a concession to the temperature (and the fact that no one outside their little group is going to see him), he’s swapped his suit and fedora for a short-sleeved linen shirt and a sun hat. It’s almost exactly the same shape as his usual hat, but the difference is still unexpectedly startling. It’s not that he wears the same thing every time she sees him, but he has a definite Look, and this is the first time she’s seen him deviate from it. “That’s really up to you.”</p><p>It’s a shame she so clearly isn’t Sven’s type. He knows how to flirt, appreciates the skill of the subtle back and forth. She uses it so often for her work that she forgets that it’s not just something she learned for the job. She enjoys the game of it, the verbal dance, and it’s fun to get to use it on someone she isn’t trying to get anything out of for a change.</p><p>Perhaps it’s not so bad that she isn’t his type. It’s easier to relax and enjoy the game when she knows there’s no expectations.</p><p>She looks at him through her eyelashes, leaning back against the balcony rail with an air of carefully studied insouciance. “I’ve really no idea what you mean.”</p><p>“Well you see, a talk is where two people who enjoy one another’s company spend some time sharing ideas, getting to know each other a little better.</p><p>“A Talk is where I warn you that whatever it is you’re selling, Train isn’t buying.”</p><p>That hadn’t been what she was expecting him to say, and it takes her a minute to decide how she’s going to react. There’s a part of her that wants to be offended, and a part that wants to point out that he’s a damn hypocrite if he’s telling her not to look, but she doesn’t need to be her worst self all the time.</p><p>“A little window shopping never hurt anyone.”</p><p>He takes a long drag on his cigarette and inclines his head to her, conceding the point. “It’s only a problem if the person doing the browsing has sticky fingers.”</p><p>She’s decided she’s going to be amused by this. Sven’s code of honour may not make sense to anyone but himself, but she knows he wouldn’t have said anything if he didn’t think it was important. He’s not the kind to stir up trouble for the sake of it, and she doesn’t have to be either. “My fingers only stick to things I want to keep. Your boy’s fun to play with, but I’m not the kind to take in strays.”</p><p>That gets her a small smile. “Yes, you are. But he’s not my boy, and that isn’t why I’m talking to you. I’ve seen people break their own hearts over him, every time we stay in one place too long. I don’t want that to be you.”</p><p>It’s very rare that men manage to shock her. Train has, a time or three, it’s one of the reasons she likes him, but she hadn’t expected it from Sven. “He’s not the sticking around type.”</p><p>“No, he isn’t. But it’s more than that. It’s not just that he doesn’t want anything long term, he doesn’t want anything like that at all, no matter what the circumstances.”</p><p>“Really?” She’s known since she was old enough to spell her own name that she wasn’t the settling down type, but that doesn’t mean she doesn’t like to be wined and dined now and then, and it definitely doesn’t mean she doesn’t like to fuck. “Doesn’t everyone want a little romance? Or at least some good sex!”</p><p>Sven laughs for that. “Not Train. I guess he’s just not built that way.”</p><p>“And how badly did you break your own heart figuring that out?”</p><p>The smile he gives her is much older than it ought to be, but it doesn’t make him look worn out, more… experienced. Mature. “Oh, it’s not broken. I’ve had a lot of experience with unrequited love, and I don’t mind it so much. And it’s not like it’s all on me. He might not want to marry me, or even sleep with me, but we’re still partners in life as well as business. We live together, we watch each other’s backs, we even share a bed sometimes, even if nothing more exciting than sleeping even happens in it. Hell, we’ve somehow ended up raising a kid together, which definitely isn’t where I saw this relationship going a year ago.”</p><p>“See, you said you only wanted to talk, but that was a ‘hands off my boy’ if ever I heard one.” It’s honestly sort of cute.</p><p>“Just because he wears a collar, don’t be mistaken. Train doesn’t belong to anyone but himself. If he wanted that sort of thing, I’ve no doubt he’d be sleeping with anyone who offered, and I wouldn’t stop him.”</p><p>He comes over and leans on the rail beside her, looking out at the view. “I don’t think anyone ever really owns a cat. You give them a place to sleep, and some milk, and if they want to stay they stay. They don’t care if you picked them off the street or paid $400 for them, that doesn’t mean you own them. If they stay it’s because they’ve decided they like having you in their life, not because you have power over them.”</p><p>“Huh. I always kind of figured Train was the kind who’d like being owned by someone.” She grins at him. “I’d say ‘if you know what I mean’, but I knew as soon as I met you that you did.”</p><p>“Takes one to know one. And it’s pretty rare, but you’re not exactly wrong. You have to catch him in the right mood and be someone he trusts pretty well, but the collar’s not all for show.” And that’s… a very very pretty mental image, even allowing for the fact that Train apparently doesn’t enjoy it in the same way as anyone she’s ever had sub for her.</p><p>“And here I thought you were supposed to be chasing me out of your shop, not giving me the sales pitch.”</p><p>Sven shrugs. “Hey, if you think you can convince him to play with you you’re welcome to try.” He turns and grins at her. “Honestly, that’d be pretty hot.”</p><p>Maybe she’d underestimated Sven Vollfied. That’s twice he’d managed to surprise her in as many minutes. “I didn’t think you were into women.”</p><p>“I’m mostly not. I’m about a Kinsey 5, but I’m not actually gay. What about you?”</p><p>“Oh, I’m entirely equal opportunities.” She gives him a long slow once over, makes sure he sees her looking. “If you’re ever in the mood…”</p><p>He laughs, but she can tell he doesn’t mean it cruelly. “No offence, but that might be the worst idea you’ve ever had.”</p><p>“Because you don’t sub?”</p><p>“Not often, but when I do I’m the most emotional damn sub you’ve ever seen. I can and will cry at the slightest provocation.”</p><p>She knows from his expression that she must look every bit as horrified as she feels, but really… “Isn’t that the kind of thing a man is supposed to be ashamed of?”</p><p>“A true gentleman is never afraid to show how he feels.”</p><p>“Your code makes no damn sense.”</p><p>“Makes perfect sense to me.”</p><p>“You’re in unrequited love with an overgrown stray cat, you’re clearly insane.”</p><p>He tips his head, conceding her point. “Can’t argue with that.”</p><p>“And you haven't thought about, I don’t know, moving on? Finding someone who likes you back?”</p><p>He studies her face for a long minute, and for once she has no idea what he’s looking for. It had been an honest question, no ulterior motives behind it, so she meets his eyes steadily and after a minute, he smiles. “He’s my partner. He’s my best friend. He’s the father, or at least weird uncle, of my daughter. The life we’ve built together is good, and I wouldn’t trade it for anything.” He turns back to the pool, smiles at the roughhousing figures in the water below. “I wouldn’t trade him for anything.”</p><p>She tries to imagine that, finding someone and knowing she wanted to spend the rest of her life with them, raise a child with them, and finds she can’t. Maybe she’s got more in common with Train than she thought. She likes the trappings of being romanced, but now that she thinks about it she really doesn’t want an actual romance. Good friends and some good sex once in a while is plenty. “I think I’m more like Train than you when it comes to this stuff.”</p><p>He grins at her. “No white picket fence in your future? Pretty wife in a gingham dress and two point four kids?”</p><p>“Ewww.”</p><p>“What, you want the gingham dress? Well okay, but I was envisioning you in a suit. Something really sharp. Maybe a hat to top it off.”</p><p>“That’s your sartorial fantasy, not mine.”</p><p>“Everyone sane appreciates a good suit. Even Train’s been known to comment, and you know how he dresses most of the time.”</p><p>Like he doesn’t want people to know how fit and strong he is, she’d always assumed. Now she’s wondering whether he’d just had to put up with one too many flirtatious comments when he went out wearing clothes that actually fit. “Come on then, tell me your deepest darkest sartorial fantasies. Tell me how you’d dress him if he let you.”</p><p>He laughs. “Dirty. We did a job in Rubeck a few years back. You remember Niles Glycol?”</p><p>“The art thief? I didn’t know that was you guys.”</p><p>“Yeah. We knew he was using gallery showings to case out the security before thefts.”</p><p>“So you went undercover?”</p><p>“As wealthy art aficionados, even. Or rather I did, and Train was my sugar baby because he has no interest in art and can’t lie worth a damn most of the time. I got to dress him up however I wanted, designer suit and everything. Even a tie.” He grins at the memory. “And then I got to take it all off him afterwards because he’s very tolerant of my kinks sometimes. I had to bribe him with pork buns but I was so worth it.”</p><p>“Who needs sex, right?”</p><p>“You joke, but honestly, yeah. If I got a genie wish tomorrow, I wouldn’t wish for Train to want sex or marriage. I love him the way he is and I don’t want to change him. I’d wish for him to give me control of his wardrobe.”</p><p>Rinslet thinks about how much fun it is, every time Eve lets Rinslet take her shopping. “I definitely don’t enjoy it as much as you do, but I can relate. Did he keep the collar on?”</p><p>“Oh yeah. And I know you can’t own cats, especially stray cats like Train, but it was fun to pretend it was my collar for an evening, if only to watch half the people in the room go green with jealousy every time I got close enough to him. So what about you? What’s your deepest darkest sartorial fantasy?”</p><p>She grins at him, bright and flirtatious and just a little bit dirty. “You don’t want to know the answer to that.”</p><p>“Oh, now I really do.”</p><p>“Are you two going to stand around talking all day?” Train calls, before she can think of a suitable response. “What’s the point of having a pool if you’re not going to use it!”</p><p>She leans over the rail to look at him, and he and Eve both wave. “Come one,” Eve says. “Come and swim!”</p><p>“I did bring my swimsuit…” she says, looking at Sven.</p><p>He grins at her. “Well alright then, I was worried I’d have to lend you something.”</p><p>“Last one into the pool is a mouldy banana,” Train yells, making Eve giggle like the child she usually pretends not to be. It’s nice to hear her actually being a kid for once.</p><p>“You heard the man,” Sven says, with a mock-serious expression. “Last one into the pool is a mouldy banana!”</p><p>She’s wearing her swimsuit under her clothes, so she’s already through the door and half out of her jeans by the time he’s finished. “Sucks to be you then, some of us do quick changes for a living.”</p><p>“Cheater,” Sven calls after her, and she can hear the smile in his voice.</p><p>She’s still wearing her top when she cannonballs into the pool, but it’s worth it to see Sven’s face when Eve tells him very seriously that he’s a mouldy banana, and it’s not like Sven won’t be delighted to lend her some clothes.</p><p>She doesn’t want a permanent home of her own, or a family, but it’s nice to have one she can come back to every once in a while all the same.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I'm not sure there's anyone still in this fandom, so any comments would be greatly appreciated.</p></blockquote></div></div>
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